Where do you rate Hagler among the top middleweight punchers? in 62 wins he had 52 or 53 stoppages, and I think the one he's most remembered for was against Thomas Hearns who had a ton of power but a bit of a shaky chin. Just curious what people here have to say.
I always saw him as more of a wear you down kind of a guy then a big power hitter. He certainly had good power, but I don't consider him a KO artist like Hearns or Trinidad or Gerald McLellan
I see him as an A puncher middleweight ...not an Aplus but when he chose to plant himself and was able to land an A for sure .. for all Gerald's legendary punching power he couldn't stop the shaky chinned Benn ....
Aren't too many who hit harder at his weight honestly. I'd say his punching power was more concussive/bludgeoning and he got good leverage from his superb technique and timing. Hagler was very observant and rarely threw wild punches. His feet were always beneath him and he nailed guys right on the nose, jaw, etc. Overall maybe 7/10 on average, 8/10 when he put his full weight behind shots. He doesn't have many clean 1 punch KO's and usually needed 2-3 shots to take guys out and rarely in the early rounds but he earned everyone's respect (no one could walk through his shots, far above average when he let his hands go). If he landed flush on just about anyone they'd be in serious pain. He was also a great finisher with killer instinct--which is even more important than simply "having" power. If you can't set up the knockout the guy will simply get on his bike or wrap you up like an octopus and make a comeback in the fight.
